3 Ways to Reduce Monthly Overhead Now

Whether you’re a business owner or responsible for keeping your company’s expenses under control, anyone involved with business finances understands the value in reducing monthly overhead. Cutting down fixed monthly costs is a great way for a business to prepare for an unexpected obstacle. This type of reduction can also free up a business to pursue a new opportunity that’s potentially very lucrative but also has some risk involved. And since it’s easy for the monthly overhead of a business to expand simply by taking on unnecessary costs, trimming the fat now is a great way to solidify a company’s financial health.

Regardless of your specific reason for wanting to pursue this reduction, here are three simple but very effective ways to cut monthly costs:

Negotiate With Suppliers and Credit Card Providers

If you can’t remember the last time you negotiated with a specific supplier or credit card provider, the time to do it is now. Both supplies and credit card providers understand the value of a regular customer. Since it costs a lot more to acquire a new customer (and there’s always the risk that a new customer won’t be as reliable), you’ll find that most are willing to cut you a deal in order to maintain your business. And if you encounter a company that’s not open to any sort of negotiations, it generally means it’s the right opportunity to invest a little time into looking at what other options are available.

Switch to Telzio VoIP

Companies reduce their monthly phone bill 30 percent on average by switching to Telzio. The reason that’s possible is because instead of charging per person, Telzio charges for usage. As an example, other VoIP providers charge $30-50 per user. So for an office of 5 employees, they’re spending $150/month. Telzio’s Standard and Pro Plans include free minutes that are shared between all users, so you aren’t paying extra fees for employees who don’t make many calls.

Look for Opportunities to Outsource

It costs around $4,000 just to find and hire a new employee. And once you hire them, the actual rate you pay generally comes out to nearly double their salary. Since that’s a significant cost, you need to think long and hard about whether you need a full-time employee for specific positions. For example, while you may need print and online design work done from time to time, it may be hard to justify the cost of hiring someone full-time for this position. By using a site like oDesk, you can find a contractor from the US or abroad to do the work you need done. Outsourcing work like this to contractors or consultants can provide exactly what your business requires at a fraction of the cost.

If there’s another monthly expense that often costs businesses much more than they realize, please help us all out by sharing it in a comment